Semiya Payasam

What you’ll need

1. Vermicelli – 1 cup
2. Milk – 5 cup (1 liter)
3. Sugar – 1 cup
4. Green Cardamom – 5
5. Cashew nuts – 10
6. Raisins – 15
7. Ghee/Clarified Butter – 2 tsp

Method

1. Dry roast the vermicelli in a Kadai till it starts browning slightly.
2. Add about 2 cups of water to this vermicelli and let it boil until almost done.
3. Remove from heat. Strain immediately through a colander and pour some cold water over it. Set aside.
4. In a heavy bottomed vessel, boil the milk and let it simmer on low flame for about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir once in a while to avoid burning.
5. Add the vermicelli and boil for another 5 minutes on medium flame.
6. Add sugar, stir well and simmer for about 7 to 8 minutes.
7. Remove from heat.
8. Heat a small frying pan with ghee and fry the cashewnuts and raisins. Add it to the prepared Payasam.
9. Crush the green cardamom coarsely and add it to the Payasam.

Parupp Payasam

Ingredients

1. Split yellow moong dal – 3/4 cup    
2. Channa Dal – 1/4 cup
3. Thin Coconut Milk - 2 1/2 cup
4. Thick Coconut Milk - 1 Cup  
5. Jaggery – 2 cups 
6. Cardamom – a few 
7. Cashewnuts- 6- 7 
8. Raisins – a few 
9. Ghee – 1 tbsp

Method

Dry roast yellow moong dal till light brown. Keep aside. Dry roast Channa dal till light brown.

Soak Channa dal in water for about 15 mins. Pressure cook the dals separately for about 3 -4 whistles.

Heat a Kadai; dissolve the jaggery with 1/4 cup of water. Strain the jaggery water to remove impurities. Wash the vessel in which jaggery was melted and pour the strained jaggery water back in the kadai. Let it boil for 3 – 5mins. Now mash the cooked dals, moong dal should get mashed well and Channa dal should be coarsely mashed. Add this to this jaggery syrup. Add the thin coconut milk at this stage and let it boil on medium flame for about 10 mins. Remove from heat and add the thick coconut milk. Do not boil after adding thick coconut milk. Add cardamom powder. Heat a small pan with ghee. Fry the cashews and raisins and add to the payasam with the ghee.

Note: 
To extract coconut milk, you will require 1 medium sized coconut. For the thick coconut milk, grate the coconut and pulse in the mixer for 30 secs. Now squeeze out the coconut extract with your hands. For thin milk, add about 1 cup of warm water to the grated coconut and run again in the mixer. Squeeze and extract coconut milk. 
Coconut pieces fried in ghee can also be added.

Idich pizhinj Payasam

No, festive meal is complete without a payasam and so is the case with the Onasadhya. So today’s post is a Payasam – Idichu Pizhinja Payasam. The star ingredient of this payasam is coconut milk, and we all know how it is extracted, by grinding and squeezing scraped fresh coconut. In olden days, when there were no blenders or mixers, people used to pound the scraped coconut in a stone mortar. Idichu in Malayalm refers to pounding and pizhinja means squeezing and hence the name.

What you’ll need:

1.       Rice: ¼ cup

2.       Powdered Jaggery – 1 cup

3.       Coconut Milk – From 1 big coconut/ readymade coconut milk – 200ml

4.       Ghee – 1 tsp

Method

1.       Wash and drain rice. Cook the rice in a pressure cooker by adding water in the ratio of 1:3.

2.       Scrape the fresh coconut. Now to extract coconut milk:

a.       Blend the scraped coconut in a mixie or blender. Squeeze the milk out and strain it. This is the first milk.

b.      Now add about 1 cup of warm water to the coconut residue and blend it again. Squeeze out the milk in another vessel and strain it. This is the second milk.

c.       Now add about 2 to 2 ½ cups of warm water to the coconut residue and blend it again. Squeeze out the milk in yet another vessel and strain. This is the third milk.

3.       Heat a heavy bottomed Kadai or vessel; add the jaggery and the 3rd milk, mix well.  Let the jaggery dissolve completely. Strain for impurities and put it back on heat. Let this boil for about 5 minutes till the raw smell of the jaggery is gone.

4.       Now mash the cooked rice well and add it to the jaggery and coconut milk. Mix well without any lumps. Let this boil for about 3 to 4 minutes or till the rice and jaggery are well blended.

5.       Now add the second milk and let it boil for 5 to 6 minutes or till the payasam starts thickening a bit.

6.       Now, remove from flame, and add the thickest milk or the first milk. Stir well. Add a teaspoon of ghee for flavor.

Yummy and tasty Payasam is ready to be served. Tastes best when served warm.

Ambalapuzha Paal Payasam

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous new year. Let’s start the year on a sweet note.

Payasam is a traditional South Indian Sweet. No feast or festivity is complete without a payasam, be it a birthday, a wedding day, or any festival. The first thing that is prepared is the payasam. There are different kinds of payasams like Nei Payasam, Semiya Payasam, Ada Pradhaman, Parippu Pradhaman, the list continues. But surely Paal Payasam is the king of them all.

I dedicate this recipe to my Amma as she is the one who taught me this simple but delicious recipe.

Ingredients                                        

1.  Milk – ½ litre
2.  Rice – 1 fistful (yes that is the measurement, double the quantity of rice in case of using 1 litre milk)
3.  Sugar – 150 gms

Method

Wash rice thoroughly in water, 2 to 3 times. Drain the water completely. Now pour ½ liter milk to this. Do not add any water. Now, place this in a pressure cooker close it and place the whistle. The payasam should cook on low flame from the beginning for about 30 to 45 mins. Turn off heat. After the cooker cools down, remove the vessel from the cooker, you will  find that the milk has turned a nice pink color. Now add the sugar (Adjust sweetness according to taste) and keep stirring for about 10 to 15 mins on low heat.

Paal Payasam is ready. Traditionally no garnishing is done. If required cashews and raisins can be added. Serve this Payasam hot or cold. I prefer it hot though.